View source for Aziz Zakari

{{Short description|Ghanaian sprinter (born 1976)}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
| headercolor    = 
| name           = Aziz Zakari
| image          = 
| image_size     = <!--Only for images narrower than 220 pixels.-->
| caption        = 
| birth_name     = 
| fullname       = 
| nickname       = 
| nationality    = 
| residence      = 
| birth_date     = {{birth date and age|1976|09|02|df=y}}
| birth_place    = [[Accra]], [[Ghana]]
| death_date     = 
| death_place    = 
| height         = {{convert|1.71|m|ftin}}
| weight         = {{convert|68|kg|lb|0}}
| website        = <!-- {{URL|www.example.com}} -->
| country        = [[Ghana]]
| sport          = Track and field
| event          = 100m, 200m<br/>4 x 100m relay
| collegeteam    = 
| club           = 
| team           = 
| turnedpro      = 
| coach          = 
| retired        = 
| coaching       = 
| worlds         = 
| regionals      = 
| nationals      = 
| olympics       = 
| paralympics    = 
| highestranking = 
| pb             = '''60m''' 6.63s<br/>'''100m''': 9.99s<br/>'''200m''' 20.23s
| medaltemplates = {{MedalCountry | {{GHA}} }}
{{MedalSport | Men's [[Athletics (sport)|athletics]]}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[IAAF World Athletics Final]]}}
{{MedalSilver|2005 Monaco|100 m}}
{{MedalBronze|2004 Monaco|100 m}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[African Championships in Athletics]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[2000 African Championships in Athletics|2000 Algiers]]|100 m}}
{{MedalGold|2000 Algiers|200 m}}
{{MedalGold|2000 Algiers|4x100 m relay}}
{{MedalSilver|[[2010 African Championships in Athletics|2010 Nairobi]]|100 m}}
{{MedalBronze|2010 Nairobi|4 x 100 m relay}}
| show-medals    = 
}}

'''Abdul Aziz Zakari''' (born September 2, 1976) is a Ghanaian athlete specializing in the 100 metres. He was born in [[Accra]], [[Ghana]].<ref name="beijing">{{cite web |url=http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRM/ENG/BIO/Athlete/2/240512.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080910190041/http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRM/ENG/BIO/Athlete/2/240512.shtml |archive-date=2008-09-10 |url-status=dead |title=Athlete biography: Aziz Zakari |website=[[Beijing2008.cn]] |access-date=August 26, 2008}}</ref>

Participating in the [[2000 Summer Olympics]], he made it to the final of the 100 metres, but failed to finish after becoming injured at about the 35m mark.

Also participating in the [[2004 Summer Olympics]], he achieved second place in his 100 metres heat, thus making it through to the second round. Heading into the second round, he was victorious in a tough sprint, before achieving qualification from his semi-final. This good form was not able to continue, as he failed to finish in the final, staged on August 22, renowned as possibly the fastest collective 100 metre race in history, where six of the seven finishing athletes completed the race in ten seconds or less.

He finally, for the first time, achieved a [[10-second barrier|sub-10 second run]] on June 14, 2005, in [[Athens]] when he ran 9.99 seconds in [[Asafa Powell]]'s world record breaking race. The Ghanaian record currently belongs to [[Leonard Myles-Mills]] with 9.98 seconds.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.athlerecords.net/Records/AFRIQUE/PLEINAIR/RECGHA.txt |title=Ghanaian athletics records |website=athlerecords.net |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070608102347/http://www.athlerecords.net/Records/AFRIQUE/PLEINAIR/RECGHA.txt  |archive-date=June 8, 2007 }}</ref>

In July 2006, Zakari was reported to have failed a drugs test for the banned substance [[stanozolol]]. The test was conducted In-Competition on 29 April 2006 at the IAAF Grand Prix Meeting in [[Dakar]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Provisional Suspension Announcement |url=http://www.iaaf.org/news/Kind=131072/newsId=35234.html |work=IAAF.org |date=2006-07-07 |access-date=2007-06-10 |archive-date=2007-09-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070907044224/http://www.iaaf.org/news/Kind=131072/newsId=35234.html |url-status=live }}</ref> On 25 September 2006 the [[IAAF]] suspended him for two years. After his suspension Zakari participated at the [[2008 Summer Olympics]] in which he ran the fourth time in his 100 metres heat, behind [[Richard Thompson (athlete)|Richard Thompson]], [[Martial Mbandjock]] and [[Simone Collio]]. His time of 10.34 was the third losing time after the 10.25 of [[Nobuharu Asahara]], advancing him to the second round. There he improved his time to 10.24, but finished in fifth place of his heat, causing his elimination from the competition.<ref name="beijing"/>

==Personal bests==
===Outdoor===

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Distance
! Time
! Wind
! Location / Date
|-
| [[100 m]]
| 9.99 s
| + 0.5&nbsp;m/s
| [[Rieti]] / 28 August 2005
|-
| [[200 m]]
| 20.23 s
| + 0.2&nbsp;m/s
| [[Algiers]] / 14 July 2000
|}

===Indoor===

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Distance
! Time
! Location / Date
|-
| [[60 m]]
| 6.63 s
| [[Boston]] / 1 February 2003
|}

==See also==
* [[List of sportspeople sanctioned for doping offences]]

==References==
<references />

==External links==
* {{World Athletics}}
* {{SR/Olympics|za/abdul-aziz-zakari-1}}

{{Authority control}}
{{Footer All-Africa Champions 4 × 100 m relay Men}}
{{Footer African Champions men's 100 metres}}
{{Footer African Champions men's 200 metres}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zakari, Aziz}}
[[Category:1976 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Ghanaian men sprinters]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Olympic athletes for Ghana]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1998 Commonwealth Games]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 2002 Commonwealth Games]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 2006 Commonwealth Games]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 2010 Commonwealth Games]]
[[Category:Doping cases in the sport of athletics]]
[[Category:Ghanaian sportspeople in doping cases]]
[[Category:Athletes from Accra]]
[[Category:Commonwealth Games athletes for Ghana]]
[[Category:World Athletics Championships athletes for Ghana]]
[[Category:African Games gold medalists for Ghana]]
[[Category:African Games gold medalists in athletics (track and field)]]
[[Category:African Games bronze medalists for Ghana]]
[[Category:African Games bronze medalists in athletics (track and field)]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 2003 All-Africa Games]]